Rib Fragments Research Articles

Tiger shark feeding on sirenian – first fossil evidence from the middle Miocene of the Styrian Basin (Austria)

ABSTRACT Based on a shark-bitten partial skeleton of an immature sirenian (Metaxytherium cf. medium) from the middle Miocene of the Styrian Basin (Austria), we report on the oldest predator–prey interaction between tiger sharks and dugongs. The bite mark-bearing ribs and vertebrae are associated with seven teeth of Galeocerdo aduncus, which are otherwise rare in the fossil record of the Styrian Basin. The unique tooth morphology of the genus Galeocerdo is reflected by an unambiguous pattern of bite marks, which is repeatedly detected on one rib fragment. Similar bite marks were reproduced experimentally by using clay instead of bone. The obtained pattern is consistent with the observed bite marks on the sirenian rib fragment, which demonstrates that tiger sharks fed upon the Metaxytherium carcass. Furthermore, we also report on the first record of the angel shark Squatina sp. within the Styrian Basin.

First sirenian remains from the Palaeogene of Crimea

ABSTRACT Fragmentary remains, including two anterior premolars, axis fragment, a phalanx, and rib fragments from the Middle Eocene (late Bartonian) Ak-Kaya locality represent the first sirenian fossils from the Paleogene of Crimea. The lower p3 shows some similarity with p3 in the dugongid Eotheroides sp. from the Eocene of North America. The axis is similar in proportions to the axis of the stem sirenian Sobrarbesiren from the Middle Eocene of Spain. The manual(?) phalanx suggests a semiaquatic adaptation of the Crimean sirenian. These remains are identified as Sirenia indet. with possible affinities with the Dugongidae.

An Investigation of Micro-CT Analysis of Bone as a New Diagnostic Method for Paleopathological Cases of Osteomalacia

ObjectiveThis paper looks to broaden the methodological possibilities for diagnosing osteomalacia in archaeological bone using micro-CT analysis. Increasing the identification of osteomalacia in paleopathology will provide support for important interpretive frameworks. MaterialsNine embedded and two unembedded rib fragments were sourced from St. Martin’s Birmingham and Ancaster, UK, and Lisieux Michelet, France. Of the 11 samples, nine were previously confirmed as osteomalacic, and presented with varying levels of diagenesis and two were non-osteomalacic controls, one of which exhibits diagenetic change. MethodsMicro-CT, backscattered scanning electron microscopy, and light microscopy were employed. Micro-CT images were evaluated for osteomalacic features using corresponding microscopic images. ResultsMicro-CT images from osteomalacic samples demonstrated the presence of defective mineralization adjacent to cement lines, areas of incomplete mineralization, and resorptive bays/borders, three key diagnostic features of osteomalacia. Diagenetic change was also detectable in micro-CT images, but did not prevent the diagnosis of osteomalacia. ConclusionsMicro-CT analysis is a non-destructive method capable of providing microstructural images of osteomalacic features in embedded and unembedded samples. When enough of these features are present, micro-CT images are capable of confirming a diagnosis of osteomalacia. SignificanceVitamin D deficiency has important health consequences which operate throughout the life course. Increasing the ability to detect cases of vitamin D deficiency provides researchers with a greater understanding of health and disease in past communities. LimitationsOnly adult rib samples were used. Suggestions for further researchPaleopathologists should look to test the utility of micro-CT analysis in diagnosing active rickets in subadult individuals.

AMS dating and ancient DNA analysis of bone relics associated with St John the Baptist from Sveti Ivan (Sozopol, Bulgaria)

Excavations in 2010 on the Black Sea island of Sveti Ivan (Bulgaria) revealed the remains of a miniature marble sarcophagus containing human and animal remains, along with an inscribed tufa ossuary, beneath a 4th to 5th-century church floor. We found that the tufa ossuary had strong links with Cappadocian rhyolite tuff. The inscriptions on its surface suggest links to John the Baptist since they refer to him by name and contain a reference to his nativity date of June 24. The ancient Greek text also mentions him in the genitive case, i.e. ‘of Saint John’. Here, we review the historical evidence pertaining to the relics and conclude that they most likely reached Sveti Ivan via Constantinople during the 4–5th century CE. To shed more light on the relics, we sampled three of the remains for radiocarbon dating and ancient DNA analysis. Radiocarbon dating of one of the bones (a metacarpal) yielded a first century AD date (5–75 cal AD, 68.2% probability). Ancient DNA analysis of this bone, as well as a rib fragment and a tooth, using shotgun sequencing yielded very little human DNA, ranging between 0 and 0.9% of sequenced reads. However, the DNA did not show any of the post-mortem damage patterns that are typical for ancient DNA. We conclude that the sequences we obtained are most likely the result of modern contamination.

Mechanical and histomorphometrical evaluation of false and floating ribs of young adults with idiopathic scoliosis

The aim of this paper was to assess the histomorphometrical and mechanical properties of ribs in patients with idiopathic scoliosis who underwent corrective surgery of scoliosis combined with thoracoplasty. The analyzed material encompasses 20 females between the ages of 12 and 18, whose pre-operative Cobb angle was 56.85 degrees, on average. The participants were divided into two age groups, up to the age of 15 and above 15 years old, taking into account the anatomical location of the assessed rib fragments with a division into floating and false ribs. The analysis of mechanical parameters was carried out by means of the quasi-static 3-point bending test, and the histomorphometric evaluation of the examined rib fragments was carried out using high-resolution computed tomography. The existence of explicit relationships between selected radiological parameters describing scoliosis and mechanical and histomorphometric parameters of the ribs has not been confirmed. Statistically significant correlations between age and rib stiffness as well as between Young's modulus and stiffness depending on the anatomical location of the examined rib fragment were confirmed. Mechanical and histomorphometric properties of bone tissue in patients with scoliosis are not explicitly associated with the radiological parameters characterizing scoliosis.

The Middle/Upper Magdalenian transition at Bourrouilla cave in Arancou (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France): Portable art and context-induced considerations

Bourrouilla cave in Arancou (Pyrénées-Atlantiques region, France) is a Paleolithic dwelling site with occupations mostly assigned to the Upper Magdalenian with harpoons. The archeological richness of the levels, the good preservation state and diversity of the remains, which include portable art, make it a major site of the western Pyrenees. It has been excavated meticulously with a fine recording of data for about twenty years. So far, available data for occupations older than the Upper Magdalenian are rare. However, the discovery at the back of the cave of a rib fragment decorated with a particularly detailed horse head feeds our considerations. By its style, this figuration differs much from art works assigned to the Upper Magdalenian; it has obvious connections with the Middle Magdalenian Pyrenean art. This discovery is consistent with the presence in the spoil of a clandestine excavation of half-round rods fragments decorated with spiral patterns of the Isturitz type, and of fork-based spearheads also found in stratigraphy together with truncated microliths. Based on these elements, we formulate the hypothesis that occupation level(s) documenting the middle phase of the Magdalenian and/or the transition between the Late Middle Magdalenian and the Upper Magdalenian with harpoons exist in stratigraphy inside the cave.

Engraved bones from the archaic hominin site of Lingjing, Henan Province

Abstract

Bone microstructure of the pareiasaur Provelosaurus americanus from the Middle Permian of southern Brazil

ABSTRACT Provelosaurus americanus from the Guadalupian of Brazil, is the only species of pareiasaur known from South America and its studies are limited to anatomical descriptions. Here, we examined the microstructure of limb bones, a rib fragment and osteoderms of P. americanus, aiming to answer questions related to its paleobiology. The bone tissues of this specimen comprise poorly vascularised parallel-fibred bone interrupted by growth marks indicating slow, cyclical growth. This is consistent with the pattern found in other pareisaurs from South Africa. However, the space between the LAGs are irregular and there is no clear decreasing in vascularity toward the periphery of the bone, suggesting that it did not reach skeletal maturity. The highest number of LAGs was found in the rib, suggesting that our sample lived a minimum of fifteen years. The osteoderms present a trilaminar structure consisting of a diploe composed of a cancellous core surrounded by two cortical layers. A diploe is absent from the osteoderms of previously studied South African pareiasaurs. The osteogenesis of the osteoderms is intramembraneous, but a metaplastic ossification during the early developmental stage cannot be entirely discarded, due to extensive remodeling in the central core that could have destroyed potential metaplastic tissue.

Description of a new basal mosasauroid from the Late Cretaceous of Croatia, with comments on the evolution of the mosasauroid forelimb

ABSTRACTA new genus and species of plesiopedal mosasauroid, Portunatasaurus krambergeri, from the Cenomanian–Turonian (Late Cretaceous) of Croatia is described. An articulated skeleton, representing an animal roughly a meter long was found in 2008 on the island of Dugi Otok. The specimen is articulated, in approximate life position, and is well represented from the anterior cervical series to the pelvis. Preserved elements include cervical and dorsal vertebrae, rib fragments, pelvic fragments, and an exquisitely preserved right forelimb. The taxon possesses plesiomorphic characters such as terrestrial limbs and an elongate body similar to that of basal mosasauroids such as Aigialosaurus or Komensaurus, but also shares derived characteristics with mosasaurine mosasaurids such as Mosasaurus. The articulated hand exhibits a unique anatomy that appears to be transitional in form between the terrestrially capable aigialosaurs and fully aquatic mosasaurines, including 10 ossified carpal elements (as in aigialosaurs), intermediately reduced pro- and epipodials, and a broad, flattened first metacarpal (as in mosasaurines). The new and unique limb anatomy contributes to a revised scenario of mosasauroid paddle evolution, whereby the abbreviation of the forelimb and the hydrofoil shape of the paddle evolves either earlier in the mosasaur lineage than previously thought or more times than previously considered. The presence of this new genus, the third and geologically youngest species of aigialosaur from Croatia, suggests an unrealized diversity and ecological importance of this family within the shallow, Late Cretaceous Tethys Sea.

Vertical Plate for Flail Chest Repair.

Operative treatment of rib fractures in the context of flail chest and respiratory failure is a well-established approach. In-line rib osteosynthesis with plates is the standard treatment sufficient to eliminate flail, achieve sufficient stability, and create chest rigidity to improve the respiratory cycle and maintain reduction. However, bridging large skeletal defects with missing portion of ribs is very challenging, particularly in the absence of suitable anchoring rib fragments. We describe an unusual use of vertical plate rib osteosynthesis in a patient with traumatic flail chest, exacerbated by a prior thoracoplasty and severe osteoporosis.

DYNAMICS OF MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN FRACTURE SITES IN VICTIMS WITH THORACIC TRAUMA AND FLAIL CHEST

Objectives - to improve the treatment results in patients with a closed chest injury complicated by the flail chest through the evaluation of the pathomorphological changes in the fracture sites on the background of their stabilization. Material and methods. The study is based on the autopsy protocols of 402 victims, whose primary cause of death was a closed chest injury with multiple rib fractures. In total 289 histological specimens were studied, including 82 samples taken from the rib fractures zones of the persons with a flail chest died in different periods after the injury. Depending on the time passed from the injury till death, there were identified 5 groups of patients. So It was possible to reveal the consistency of the evolution of morphological changes in the zone of rib fractures on the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 14th, and 21st day after the injury, with preserved breathing without stabilizing the rib cage. Results. We found out that on the 1st, 2nd, 5th day there were no morphologically significant changes in the fracture zone, aimed at its stabilization. With breathing preserved for more than 5 days, there was a delay in the primary callus formation and enhanced bone resorption in the fracture site. Osteoblasts activation, which manifests the proliferation of cellular elements in fragmentary rib fractures, occurred 7-9 days later than in a single fracture. It was conditioned by the persistent "floating" of the rib fragments which impacted the newly formed trabeculae of bone and forced them to rearrange twice during the bony callus formation. The increased time of the rib fractures repair aggravated the lung injury, contributed to the development of pneumonia and purulent-septic complications detected posthumously which, in their turn, were the primary cause of deaths. Conclusion. In 17.4% of victims with severe chest injury and flail chest the death is conditionally preventable. The crucial requirement of the effective treatment of patients with the thoracic trauma and flail chest is the usage of various methods of the thoracic cage stabilization.

New discoveries of vertebrate remains from the Triassic of Riba de Santiuste, Guadalajara (Spain)

The palaeontological sites of Riba de Santiuste and Sienes (Riba de Santiuste area) are located in the province of Guadalajara, Spain. They include a stratigraphic interval in Muschelkalk facies belonging to the “Cuesta del Castillo Sandstones” Formation and “Royuela Dolostones, Marls and Mudstones” Formation. These sites include numerous fossil plants, direct vertebrate remains, and vertebrate swim traces. The vertebrate remains correspond to a multitude of anatomical elements of Sauropterygia (Nothosauroidea, Placodontia) and possible Archosauria (Rauisuchia) remains. The fossil material attributed to nothosaurs includes teeth, coracoids, a thoracic vertebra, some isolated vertebral centra, humerus, rib fragments, and some dorsal and caudal vertebrae. The remains attributed to placodonts correspond to fragments of skull, quadrate, teeth and osteoderms. Other undetermined sauropterygian remains, such as ulnas, fragments of long bones, fragments of ribs, and articular facets of ribs have been also recovered. Additionally, a fragment of mandible and an intervertebral disk of indeterminate reptiles whose size could be compatible with archosaurs are also described. These bones are exceptionally well-preserved because the fossilization processes have preserved the microstructure of the tissues. The sites also show vertebrate traces, with parallel scratch impressions interpreted as swim traces. The relative stratigraphic position and the palaeontological content of these sites suggest a Ladinian age (Middle Triassic). The interpretation of the sedimentary facies here described also suggests that the sites could correspond to detrital-carbonate mixed deposits of coastal intertidal to supratidal environments.

The first record of Sirenia (Mammalia) from the early Oligocene of the Paratethys

Sirenians have been extensively recorded from the Mediterranean and west European localities but there are only few finds to the east of it, from the area covered by the Paratethys. For the early Oligocene, to our knowledge, there are no published records of sirenians from inner seas of the Old World. Here we report a specimen of Dugongidae indet., consisting of two partial vertebrae and 12 fragments of ribs, collected in a manganese ore mine in Ukraine and dated as the earliest Oligocene (33–32 Ma). The specimens, as preserved, did not differ in morphology and size from ‘Halitherium schinzii’ and therefore can belong to Kaupitherium, at present the single early Oligocene genus recorded from Europe. However, its vertebral and rib anatomy is not specific for Kaupitherium, so we identify it only by family level. The marks of scavenging on a rib possibly are due to gastropod or bivalve mollusks. The sea, as suggested from biotic data, had a temperate or subtropical climate, relatively cold waters and high diversity of pelagic and deep-water habitats. Thus, the onset of the Oligocene was a period when sirenians could enter temperate inner Eurasian waters, a marginal area in their worldwide dispersal.

Detection of glass particles on bone lesions using SEM-EDS.

The problem of identifying the wounding agent in forensic cases is recurrent. Moreover, when several tools are involved, distinguishing the origin of lesions can be difficult. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS) equipment is increasingly available to the scientific and medical community, and some studies have reported its use in forensic anthropology. However, at our knowledge, no study has reported the use of SEM-EDS in forensic cases involving glass tools, whether in case reports or experiments. We performed an experimental study on human rib fragments, on which we manually created wounds using fragments of window and mirror glass. SEM-EDS was executed on samples without any further preparation on low vacuum mode, then on the same samples after defleshing them completely by boiling them. Window and mirror glass particles were detected on experimental wounds. Both had silica in their spectra, and the opaque side of the mirror contained titanium, allowing for their identification. Boiling and defleshing the bone samples involved a loss of information in terms of the number of wounds detected as positive for glass particles and in the number of glass particles detected, for both window and mirror glass. We suggest the analysis of wounds with suspected glass particles using low vacuum mode and with no defleshment by boiling.

Libysiren sickenbergi, gen. et sp. nov.: a new sirenian (Mammalia, Protosirenidae) from the middle Eocene of Libya

ABSTRACT Fossil sirenian specimens collected in 1964 by the late R. J. G. Savage's expeditions in north-central Libya are described. They come from early middle Eocene (lower Lutetian, 47.8–43.6 Ma) deposits at the locality of Bu el Haderait and represent a new genus and species, Libysiren sickenbergi. This animal is the largest known protosirenid, and the largest Eocene sirenian known to date (condylobasal length >420 mm). Its dental formula was apparently 3.1.5.3, with five premolar loci as in all other Eocene sirenians, but the teeth are mostly not preserved. Its postcranial skeleton is unknown except for the atlas, a thoracic vertebra, and rib fragments. Stable isotopes indicate a mostly seagrass diet and a habitat of fully marine salinity. The Protosirenidae presently comprise the genera Protosiren, Ashokia, and Libysiren, with their interrelationships unresolved. Together, they are most parsimoniously regarded as a paraphyletic group basal to both Trichechidae and Dugongidae. However, as more of their morphology and diversity are revealed, they may prove to be more closely allied to the former and may shed crucial light on the still-mysterious origins of the trichechids (manatees). http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2D9966C3-314F-4657-BDCA-E1685C0C7081 SUPPLEMENTAL DATA—Supplemental materials are available for this article for free at http://vertpaleo.org/Publications/Journal-of-Vertebrate-Paleontology.aspx Citation for this article: Domning, D. P., G. J. Heal, and S. Sorbi. 2017. Libysiren sickenbergi, gen. et sp. nov.: a new sirenian (Mammalia, Protosirenidae) from the middle Eocene of Libya. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2017.1299158.

Collagen found in 195 million-year-old dinosaur bone, perhaps

Until now, the oldest proteins found were collagen fragments from an 80 million-year old Brachylophosaurus canadensis dinosaur femur. A new finding claims to have beaten that record by more than 100 million years. Robert R. Reisz, a paleontologist at the University of Toronto, and coworkers report that they have found collagen in tiny channels of a 195 million-year-old Lufengosaurus dinosaur rib fragment uncovered in Yunnan Province, China (Nat. Commun. 2017, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14220). But some scientists aren’t convinced. These skeptics question whether the analysis of the fossil actually points to collagen. Usually when fossilized bones are analyzed, researchers dissolve the inorganic material and extract the organic material. Reisz and coworkers instead examined the organic material as it sat in the fossil. They looked for collagen in thin, longitudinal slices of bone using synchrotron-derived Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy. By analyzing the sample without dissolving the bone, “we can act...

Impacted thoracic foreign bodies after penetrating chest trauma.

Retained foreign bodies in the chest may include shell fragments, bullets, shrapnel, pieces of clothing, bones, and rib fragments. The risks of removal of foreign bodies must be weighed against the complications of leaving them inside the chest. We treated 90 cases of retained intrathoracic foreign bodies in patients admitted to 3 tertiary centers in Saudi Arabia between March 2015 and March 2016. Sixty patients were injured by shrapnel, 26 had one or more bullets, 3 had broken rib fragments, and one had a metal screw. The chest wall was site of impaction in 48 cases, the lungs in 24, pleura in 14, and mediastinum in 4. Removal of the retained foreign body was carried out in 12 patients only: bullets in 9 cases, bone fragments in 2, and a metal screw in one. The predictors for removal were bullets, female sex, and mediastinal position with bilateral chest injury, especially with fracture ribs. Retained intrathoracic foreign bodies due to penetrating chest trauma are treated mainly conservatively unless there is another indication for chest exploration.

Hominin first rib discovered at the Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa

First ribs – the first or most superior ribs in the thorax – are rare in the hominin fossil record, and when found, have the potential to provide information regarding the upper thorax shape of extinct hominins. Here, we describe a partial first rib from Member 4 of the Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa. The rib shaft is broken away, so only the head and neck are preserved. The rib is small, falling closest to small-bodied Australopithecus first ribs (AL 288-1 and MH1). Given that it was recovered near the StW 318 femur excavation, which also represents a small individual, we suggest that the two may be associated. Three-dimensional geometric morphometric analyses were used to quantify the rib fragment morphology and compare it to extant hominoid and other fossil hominin ribs. While only the proximal end is preserved, our analyses show that South African Australopithecus share derived features of the proximal first rib more closely resembling A. afarensis and later hominins than great apes.

The selection of surgical approach in the surgery of multiple rib fractures and flail chest

Актуальность В хирургии тяжелых повреждений груди достижение стабилизации грудной клетки является одним из ключевых факторов, обеспечивающих положительный исход лечения. Оперативная фиксация переломов является надежным и эффективным способом стабилизации, однако множество технологий обусловливают необходимость уточнения, оценки и совершенствования подходов, в том числе и в вопросе выбора оперативного доступа.Цель исследования Выбор оптимального доступа для выполнения остеосинтеза ребер у пострадавших с тяжелой закрытой травмой грудной клетки.Материал и методы В статье описан опыт хирургического лечения 75 пациентов с множественными и флотирующими переломами ребер. Всем пациентам проведен остеосинтез ребер с помощью системы фиксации «Matrix Rib». Были выделены 2 группы пациентов: I группа – 36 пациентов, у которых доступ осуществляли посредством разреза мягких тканей по ходу межреберий; II группа – 39 пациентов, у которых были применены альтернативные и усовершенствованные варианты хирургического доступа. В работе использованы новые технические приспособления, способствующие усовершенствованию хирургической техники остеосинтеза ребер: сетка для маркировки операционного поля, троакар, двухканальный торакопорт для однопортовой торакоскопии.Результаты и их обсуждение Дана оценка различным видам доступов, приведены их количественные и качественные характеристики. Статистически значимого влияния вида оперативного доступа на показатели морбидности и летальности не выявлено. У пациентов II группы достигнуто уменьшение длины хирургического разреза доступа, сокращение длительности операции, отсутствие необходимости в дополнительных доступах.Выводы Наилучшие условия для выполнения остеосинтеза ребер создает хирургический доступ, осуществляемый в проекции линий переломов предполагаемых для восстановления ребер. Применение специальных приспособлений позволяет выполнять оперативную фиксацию отломков ребер через миниинвазивные доступы, а также проводить торакоскопию для устранения внутриплевральных повреждений.

Synthesis, structure and ADMET properties of the monoribbed-functionalized iron(II) clathrochelates with terminal DNA-relevant groups

Monoribbed-functionalized iron(II) cage complexes, designed for the efficient supramolecular binding with nucleic acids, were obtained using nucleophilic substitution of reactive chlorine atom(s) of the mono- and dichloroclathrochelate bis-α-benzildioximate precursors with primary aliphatic amines, having terminal functionalizing groups, as N-nucleophiles. Depending on a reactivity of these nucleophilic agents, the substitutions were performed in various reaction conditions and solvents. The clathrochelates obtained were characterized using elemental analysis, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, IR, UV–Vis, 1H and 13C{1H} NMR spectra, and by single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiments (for four of these cage complexes). Fe–N distances in their FeN6-coordination polyhedra fall in the range 1.892(1)–1.954(4)Å and an encapsulated iron(II) ion is slightly shifted from the centers of cage frameworks in the direction of two α-benzildioximate ribbed fragments. The rigidity of the chelate NC–CN fragments causes the chelate (bite) N–Fe–N angles α and the heights h of these polyhedra to remain constant; their geometry is intermediate between a trigonal prism (the distortion angle φ=0°) and a trigonal antiprism (φ=60°) with the φ values from 25.5° and 28.9°. The conformations of the flexible functionalizing substituents at clathrochelate frameworks are strongly affected by an intramolecular hydrogen bonding.